How Manning Bid Went Awkwardly Awry

How Manning Bid Went Awkwardly Awry, It must be said that through the process that eventually landed him in Denver, Peyton Manning was about as un-Favre-like as a future Hall of Fame quarterback could be. Far from No. 4′s offseason attention jags, Manning went as under the radar as possible.

He conducted a workout for the San Francisco 49ers that wasn’t discovered until three days after it happened, which must be a record in the Twitter-led world of modern football journalism. When he found that the Miami Dolphins weren’t the right fit for him, Manning actually wrote team owner Stephen Ross a letter to explain why.

In return for these niceties, Manning wanted as much control over the process as possible. Potential suitors were identified, and summarily accepted or rejected as first-round lottery winners, with the prize being Manning’s undivided attention for the franchise sell job.

One team that didn’t get past the opening gates was the Seattle Seahawks, who decided to up the ante and break into the game anyway. Head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider flew to Denver during one of Manning’s pre-signing visits there, and tried to get him on board — figuratively and literally. As impressive as the gesture may have been to others, Manning wasn’t impressed. From SI.com’s Peter King:

Manning got a call informing him that Seahawks coach Pete Carroll had flown, unannounced, with Seattle G.M. John Schneider to the airport in Englewood. Carroll would do whatever Manning wanted-talk for a while in Denver or on the plane to Arizona, his next visit, or fly him to Seattle for a lengthier discussion. Peyton Manning does not like surprises. He said no thanks. Carroll flew home.